BY HUGH FULFORD â Dean Kelly lives in Highland Home, Alabama, a small town just south of Montgomery. He is an able and faithful gospel preacher, a cherished Facebook friend, and a recipient of these weekly âHugh’s News & Views.â I have discovered that Dean is also an able writer, as the following poignant poem reveals. I am sharing it with my readers this week because it reflects so well many of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that I so often experience at this time of the year. I hope you will get as much joy from reading it as I did.
THE âBER MONTHS
My wife has always said itâs sad
When the âber months come our way;
But whatâs a âber month I will ask
And this is what she will always say:
âThe âber months mean that summerâs gone
When days grow short and nights grow long,
When another year grows old and fades,
Like the final chorus of a lovely song.â
âItâs sad to watch the flowers die,
And trees grow naked in the breeze,
SeptemBER fades into OctoBERâs days,
NovemBER and DecemBER follow them with ease.â
Now granted, there are joys to find
Within those âber months’ days,
But still the year is mostly gone,
And time has passed its speedy ways.
But we must see the joys that come,
As we fly through the âber monthsâ time,
Some of the greatest joys are found,
In days of autumn and the wintertime.
And maybe now it seems more true,
That âber months are sad to behold,
Because we have entered without doubt,
The âber months of this life as we grow old.
The âyearâ of life has mostly passed,
The winter of this life looms ahead,
But there is so much to be enjoyed,
In the âber days where this life has led.
So, cheer up, enjoy, and celebrate
That we are allowed a season new,
Instead of sadness in our souls,
Letâs refresh our hearts anew.
Yes, the âber months mean that summerâs gone
And the days grow short and nights grow long,
And another year grows old and fades,
But, letâs live it as a chorus of a lovely song.
Dean Kelly, 9/15/23
Speaking Schedule:
- October 1: Fairlane Church of Christ, Shelbyville, TN (10 a.m.) (Fifty Year celebration of congregation in its present location)
- October 4: Nashville Road Church of Christ, Gallatin, TN. (Special Fall Series: âVital Questions of Eternal Consequences.â Continues each Wednesday of October at 7 p.m. and on Sunday morning, October 29, at 10 a.m.)
- Donât reject the light - 2025-07-20
- Ohio congregation starts, takes form - 2025-07-01
- Danger of too much generalizing: Hugh Fulford - 2025-06-24